November 15, 2007 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
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City can't afford
to clean up spill
(Continued from page 1.)
There will be additional sam-
piing and testing of soil and an
overall report will be submitted
to the Washington Department
of Ecology, Michael said.
The site will go on a list with
the Department of Ecology as a
contaminated site. Somewhere
down the road, the city could
be asked to clean up the site,
he added. The city could also be
required to pay up-front costs
while seeking reimbursement
from a liable party.
There formerly were two gas
stations on corners at First and
Franklin. Michael said earlier
the probable source of' the con-
tamination was underground
gasoline storage tanks that once
were at those stations.
THE DEPARTMENT of
Ecology has not been very ac-
tive about going after commu-
nities once such sites are iden-
tifed, Michael said. As long as
the soils aren't disturbed, the
department is less concerned,
he added.
Three weeks ago, the city
announced two sites contami-
nated by gasoline were discov-
ered during work on the Basin 2
project. A second site, at Fourth
and Franklin, is currently being
cleaned up by the Basin 2 con-
tractor, Gary Merlino Construc-
tion Company of Seattle.
Soil tested from the First and
Franklin site came back with
high levels of gasoline, and sam-
ples also indicated the possible
presence of benzene, a highly
carcinogenic substance, Michael
noted last week in a briefing
memo to the commissioners.
Ebbeson said the First and
Franklin intersection will be
closed three to four days for the
Basin 2 work. That work will
probably be done the week af-
ter Thanksgiving. Meanwhile,
work at Fourth and Franklin
is nearing completion. The con-
tractor is slated to pave the area
this Friday, depending on the
weather.
Hood Canal
SCHOOL
November 19-23
MONDAY: Breakfast: Pancakes
with syrup, fruit, juice, milk. Lunch:
'lhco saladbar, brownie, milk.
TUESDAY: Breakfast: Yogurt, gra-
ham cracker, fruit, juice, mqlk.
Lunch: Thanksgiving Luncheon,
Parents, Grandparents, and Friends
are invited.
WEDNESDAY: Breakfast: Cinna-
mon roll, fruit, juice, milk. Lunch:
Hotdog in cheese, baby carrots,
apple, orange, animal cookie,
milk.
THURSDAY: ThanksgivingBreak,
No School.
FRIDAY: Thanksgiving Break, No
School.
Sponsored by:
Hoodsport'
• N. 24341 Hwy. 101 • 877-5272
A SLOWDOWN IN the housing market isn't stopping this worker from
building a new home north of Shelton on Brockdale Road.
00rices and permits pointing
o a turn in housing market
ason County housing slumped
two fronts in October as home
dropped and permits tbr
'Construction of new homes
ed.
lty and county building depart-
ts reported the issuance of just
:r $5.25 million in permits for
iw dwellings last month. That
)ares to reports of 47 proposed
lings valued at just over $8
an in September and 55 pro-
dwellings valued a just over
illion permitted in October of
tear. The Northwest Multiple
:lg Service, a Realtors' orga-
tttion, reports that more homes
for sale but fewer dwellings
hranging hands at a slightly
price. The NMLS's ever-up-
', officers say it s a perfect buy-
lla .....
rKe in the 19-county area
is 23 percent lower than the num-
ber which sold in October of last
year, but more houses for sale and
fewer people buying them have
not translated into lower prices
here. According to the listing ser-
vice report on the market in Ma-
. son County:
• The median price of the 88
home sales that were finalized last
month was $201,000, with median
representing the price of the home
in the middle of the pack. Half sold
for more and half sold for less. Oc-
tober 2006 had more sales at low-
er prices, with the 114 finalized
transactions at a median price of
$195,340.
• Year-to-date numbers indi-
cate that October was no fluke.
There were 818 sales with a me-
dian price of $210,000 through the
first 10 months of this year, com-
great majority of buyers who have
some money but not a lot. The av-
erage price tends to magnify the
importance of homes that are very
expensive or very cheap, and in
the case of Mason County there
are some big bucks causing the
average to defy gravity by soaring
high above the median.
The average price of a home that
sold here last month was $260,497,
which is 6.8 percent higher than
the average of October 2006 and
29.6 percent above last month's
median. The average price of pend-
ing sales suggests that November
might soften things up tbr pricey
dwellings too. The average price of
a sale pending on October 31 was
$225,110, which is 15.7 percent
lower that the average closing
price and 9.1 percent lower than
by the organization.
ey point to historical trends pared to 1,096 sales with a median the average price of sales pending
ting that a boom of six or price of $190,750 through the first (Please turn to page 9.)
years tends to be followed by 10 months of last year.
:'year decline. "This decline • Pending sales suggest the -' 1 I :' "''
eSents an ideal opportunity market maytake a turn for the 0 BOOK STORE
tly because homes can be pur- benefit of buyers in November. As
,,d at a premium value, and of October 31, there were 68 sales
!s exactly what we're experi: pending as compared to 112 on the
i ' ' ' " '
[g n the Puget Sound region, same date of 2006 but this year s :)O1'
[floe Spencer, the director of pending median is lower, $194,450
.e listing service. , compared to $194,975 at the end zl"l '=i O O -- •
s so-called perfect buyers of October of last year. Also lower } .- Local Author '
etis driven by a growingin- for the first time in quite a while is "'€ I/I/el¢omlng Back e
.IT of homes for sale, with the the median price of houses still on
"Wellings °n the l°cal market the market' $249'900 c°mpared t° l ,a/ !- :ii : 1 ,
!I October 31 representing an $249,950 for active listings in Oc-
ase of 210 homes, or 33 per- tober 2006.
OVer the 637 on the market as REALTORS LIKE to talk
same date in 2006. about the median price because it
tTTHE SAME time, the num- is thought to bea better measuring 00a'ur-" a-.
or homes that sold last month stick than the average price for the
November 17th
Noon - 3pm
Debbie will be signing
copies of her new book
Where Angels Go
116 W. Railroad Ave. Suite 102 - Shelton, WA 98584
[ M-TH 7-6:00
O X O CAStor 360-426-601 I Phone FRI 7-7:00
[[] C, ECK 360-426-6012 Fax ,.,,s e...n,..,.,,s e" SAT 7"5:30
,f.f,,,...,M,.,o, SUN 8:3,0-4:00
i113 E. Shelton Springs Road
(Same road as high school.)
November 16 & 17
Fri. 9 a.m.-6 p.m.,
Sat. 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Gifts&
Thursday, November 15, 2007 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page 7
City can't afford
to clean up spill
(Continued from page 1.)
There will be additional sam-
piing and testing of soil and an
overall report will be submitted
to the Washington Department
of Ecology, Michael said.
The site will go on a list with
the Department of Ecology as a
contaminated site. Somewhere
down the road, the city could
be asked to clean up the site,
he added. The city could also be
required to pay up-front costs
while seeking reimbursement
from a liable party.
There formerly were two gas
stations on corners at First and
Franklin. Michael said earlier
the probable source of' the con-
tamination was underground
gasoline storage tanks that once
were at those stations.
THE DEPARTMENT of
Ecology has not been very ac-
tive about going after commu-
nities once such sites are iden-
tifed, Michael said. As long as
the soils aren't disturbed, the
department is less concerned,
he added.
Three weeks ago, the city
announced two sites contami-
nated by gasoline were discov-
ered during work on the Basin 2
project. A second site, at Fourth
and Franklin, is currently being
cleaned up by the Basin 2 con-
tractor, Gary Merlino Construc-
tion Company of Seattle.
Soil tested from the First and
Franklin site came back with
high levels of gasoline, and sam-
ples also indicated the possible
presence of benzene, a highly
carcinogenic substance, Michael
noted last week in a briefing
memo to the commissioners.
Ebbeson said the First and
Franklin intersection will be
closed three to four days for the
Basin 2 work. That work will
probably be done the week af-
ter Thanksgiving. Meanwhile,
work at Fourth and Franklin
is nearing completion. The con-
tractor is slated to pave the area
this Friday, depending on the
weather.
Hood Canal
SCHOOL
November 19-23
MONDAY: Breakfast: Pancakes
with syrup, fruit, juice, milk. Lunch:
'lhco saladbar, brownie, milk.
TUESDAY: Breakfast: Yogurt, gra-
ham cracker, fruit, juice, mqlk.
Lunch: Thanksgiving Luncheon,
Parents, Grandparents, and Friends
are invited.
WEDNESDAY: Breakfast: Cinna-
mon roll, fruit, juice, milk. Lunch:
Hotdog in cheese, baby carrots,
apple, orange, animal cookie,
milk.
THURSDAY: ThanksgivingBreak,
No School.
FRIDAY: Thanksgiving Break, No
School.
Sponsored by:
Hoodsport'
• N. 24341 Hwy. 101 • 877-5272
A SLOWDOWN IN the housing market isn't stopping this worker from
building a new home north of Shelton on Brockdale Road.
00rices and permits pointing
o a turn in housing market
ason County housing slumped
two fronts in October as home
dropped and permits tbr
'Construction of new homes
ed.
lty and county building depart-
ts reported the issuance of just
:r $5.25 million in permits for
iw dwellings last month. That
)ares to reports of 47 proposed
lings valued at just over $8
an in September and 55 pro-
dwellings valued a just over
illion permitted in October of
tear. The Northwest Multiple
:lg Service, a Realtors' orga-
tttion, reports that more homes
for sale but fewer dwellings
hranging hands at a slightly
price. The NMLS's ever-up-
', officers say it s a perfect buy-
lla .....
rKe in the 19-county area
is 23 percent lower than the num-
ber which sold in October of last
year, but more houses for sale and
fewer people buying them have
not translated into lower prices
here. According to the listing ser-
vice report on the market in Ma-
. son County:
• The median price of the 88
home sales that were finalized last
month was $201,000, with median
representing the price of the home
in the middle of the pack. Half sold
for more and half sold for less. Oc-
tober 2006 had more sales at low-
er prices, with the 114 finalized
transactions at a median price of
$195,340.
• Year-to-date numbers indi-
cate that October was no fluke.
There were 818 sales with a me-
dian price of $210,000 through the
first 10 months of this year, com-
great majority of buyers who have
some money but not a lot. The av-
erage price tends to magnify the
importance of homes that are very
expensive or very cheap, and in
the case of Mason County there
are some big bucks causing the
average to defy gravity by soaring
high above the median.
The average price of a home that
sold here last month was $260,497,
which is 6.8 percent higher than
the average of October 2006 and
29.6 percent above last month's
median. The average price of pend-
ing sales suggests that November
might soften things up tbr pricey
dwellings too. The average price of
a sale pending on October 31 was
$225,110, which is 15.7 percent
lower that the average closing
price and 9.1 percent lower than
by the organization.
ey point to historical trends pared to 1,096 sales with a median the average price of sales pending
ting that a boom of six or price of $190,750 through the first (Please turn to page 9.)
years tends to be followed by 10 months of last year.
:'year decline. "This decline • Pending sales suggest the -' 1 I :' "''
eSents an ideal opportunity market maytake a turn for the 0 BOOK STORE
tly because homes can be pur- benefit of buyers in November. As
,,d at a premium value, and of October 31, there were 68 sales
!s exactly what we're experi: pending as compared to 112 on the
i ' ' ' " '
[g n the Puget Sound region, same date of 2006 but this year s :)O1'
[floe Spencer, the director of pending median is lower, $194,450
.e listing service. , compared to $194,975 at the end zl"l '=i O O -- •
s so-called perfect buyers of October of last year. Also lower } .- Local Author '
etis driven by a growingin- for the first time in quite a while is "'€ I/I/el¢omlng Back e
.IT of homes for sale, with the the median price of houses still on
"Wellings °n the l°cal market the market' $249'900 c°mpared t° l ,a/ !- :ii : 1 ,
!I October 31 representing an $249,950 for active listings in Oc-
ase of 210 homes, or 33 per- tober 2006.
OVer the 637 on the market as REALTORS LIKE to talk
same date in 2006. about the median price because it
tTTHE SAME time, the num- is thought to bea better measuring 00a'ur-" a-.
or homes that sold last month stick than the average price for the
November 17th
Noon - 3pm
Debbie will be signing
copies of her new book
Where Angels Go
116 W. Railroad Ave. Suite 102 - Shelton, WA 98584
[ M-TH 7-6:00
O X O CAStor 360-426-601 I Phone FRI 7-7:00
[[] C, ECK 360-426-6012 Fax ,.,,s e...n,..,.,,s e" SAT 7"5:30
,f.f,,,...,M,.,o, SUN 8:3,0-4:00
i113 E. Shelton Springs Road
(Same road as high school.)
November 16 & 17
Fri. 9 a.m.-6 p.m.,
Sat. 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Gifts&
Thursday, November 15, 2007 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page 7